What changed in CapCut Pro pricing
In January 2026 CapCut announced a new annual price for Pro: $179.99 a year, up from $77, effective February 20, 2026. PiunikaWeb reported the change alongside an outage, and gathered the reaction on r/CapCut: users described it as "locking 1080p and 60fps behind a paywall" and said there was "no apology, heads up or acknowledgment". On October 28, 2026 the pricing page lists Pro at $19.99 a month with 1,200 AI credits, an "up to 30% off" annual discount with no figure shown, and an Ultra tier with 8,645 credits (capcut.com).
The complaint is not only the number. It is what moved. The most-upvoted Google Play review on the subject, with 53,000 helpful votes, says "there are sooooo many things that have pro, even the simple ones". Another: "i paid for that and now it's asking for more money for pro features" (Google Play).
Why the price went up
CapCut is an editor you operate, sold as a subscription plus AI credits. When the editor is free, the business runs on upgrades: the way to grow revenue is to move the things people use most, export quality, frame rate, a handful of effects, from free to Pro, and raise Pro. That is what the 2026 change did. The editing hours are still yours either way; you are paying for permission to export what you made.
How RealTake prices it instead
RealTake does not sell an editor. You upload a raw video of yourself talking and get back a finished vertical video: cuts, animated captions, titles, b-roll, motion graphics, camera moves and sound, done for you, in minutes. Plans are priced by how many finished videos you make a month: Starter is free with 5 watermarked videos, Presence is $49 a month (or $29 billed yearly) for around 16 to 32, Authority $99 for around 38 to 76, Empire $249 for around 107 to 213.
Every RealTake feature is on every plan, including the free one. You see the cost of a video before it renders, changes in the Studio before render cost nothing, and a failed render is never charged. A reminder email comes before any renewal, and you can cancel any time.
Upload one video and see it fully edited.
Free plan: 5 watermarked videos a month. No credit card.
CapCut vs RealTake on pricing
| RealTake | CapCut | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Finished videos, edited for you | The editor, plus AI credits; the hours are yours |
| 1080p export | Every plan, including free | Users report it behind Pro since February 2026 |
| Annual price change in 2026 | None | Pro annual $77 → $179.99 |
| Features by tier | Every feature on every plan | Basics users relied on moved behind Pro |
| Before you pay | Cost shown before render | Ad before export on the free tier |
CapCut facts from capcut.com, Google Play, Trustpilot and the linked reporting, read October 28, 2026.